Watch Tinters Work Their Magic at the International Window Film Tint-Off for Auto and Flat Glass

What does that date mean to you?

If you're a professional tinter, it is the apex, the zenith of your field.

It is the Super Bowl Sunday of your profession. It is the date of the 2005 International Tint-Off to be held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla., the Tint-Off is part of the International Window Film Conference, Expo and Tint-Off (IWFE), which will run from February 25-28, 2005.

The 4th Annual International Window Film Tint-Off™ will be greatly expanded this year and offer handsome new prize packages to the top three tinters and, the best part of competition, bragging rights. The cash prize for the World's Best Auto Tinter is set at $5,000 and with it will come a gold medal. Second place will receive a silver medal and $1,000 while a bronze medal goes to the third place winner, along with $500.

New for the first time is a flat-glass tinting competition. The Architectural Film Tint-Off will be run similarly to the Auto Film Tint-Off and offers prizes of $1,000 and a gold medal to the first place finisher, a silver medal and hotel registration for the 2006 IWFE for the second place finisher, and a bronze medal to the third place finisher. A certificate of participation will be distributed to all contestants of both Tint-Off competitions.

If you tint professionally, you must be nominated by your distributor as a representative in the competition. Distributors may send up to three contestants to compete in Orlando, and are encouraged to send the best of their best to this international industry event. Tint-Off competitors must pre-register. Contestants must register for the Tint-Off in advance - no onsite Tint-Off registrations are allowed. Contestant registration forms are available online at www.glass.com/iwfe.php. For more information, please contact Hayley Steele at 540/720-5584 ext. 151 or by e-mail at hsteele@glass.com.

Tinters will compete under the same rules as years' past, with the Architectural Film Tint-Off following a similar format to the Auto Film Tint-Off. Neither the type of glass nor the size or shape of it to be tinted in competition will be announced until the day of the competition. Depending on the size of the field, preliminary rounds may be held to determine who tints in the finals, and in such an event, heat time and numbers will be determined by a blind draw.

For those who are less inclined to compete but wish to take advantage of the resources offered by the conference, it would be well advised to register early. Pre-registration saves you money with reduced registration fees and saves you time on long lines. You can pre-register at www.glass.com/iwfe.php. Pre-registration closes at the end of business on February 14, 2005. Any registrations received after this date will be considered on-site registration.

In this show, too, distributors are encouraged to take a more active roll in the events. Not only will they send their best tinters to the competition, but they will introduce them to the crowd and present the awards to the winners. In fact, the whole awards presentation has been overhauled. Instead of the fairly informal, end-of the day and end of the conference awards presentation that has become standard the last few years, 2005 will witness a more official awards ceremony with the distributors and dealers being officially recognized along with the winners.

Not only will attendees have a chance to see who is behind the success of the tinter, but distributors, too, get to join in on the bragging rights. If one of their tinters win the competition the distributor can tell the world that it has the best in the industry and have the world's best tinter to prove it. Don't miss this event. Questions, please call 540/720-5584 or click here (www.glass.com/iwfe.php).